Iran Is About To Become Chair Of The UN Human Rights Forum

Geneva, October 30 — Iran will become chair of a UN human rights forum on Thursday, sparking an international protest campaign from human rights activists who say Tehran’s record of oppression, torture and executions make it ill-suited for the post. The regime was appointed in May by the president of the UN Human Rights Council. EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell defended Iran’s appointment as a matter of regional rotation, “in consistency with established UN procedures.”

But UN Watch research shows in fact that the Asian group, to which Iran belongs, has held the position four times in the past six years, denying rotations to several other regional groups. Iran’s appointment can be overturned by a special meeting of the council before Thursday, said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch, an independent non-governmental human rights organization based in Geneva, which has drafted a resolution for countries to adopt.